Greek companies face ‘annihilation’ amid debt crisis

“Returning to 1984 purchasing power levels, 1998 employment levels and 1999 salary levels will not help Greece’s economy in 2013,” said Vassilis Korkidis, chairman of the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce (Esee).

The association, representing a sector which employs nearly 18pc of the Greek workforce, presented an annual study forecasting a further drop in sales and job cuts in an economy where the unemployment rate currently exceeds 25pc.

More than 40pc of limited liability companies and 70.6pc of general and limited partnerships expect a fall in sales, and one in three businesses in both categories expects to shed workers next year, the report showed.